Bülach District Court sentences former conscientious objector
Published: Tuesday, Mar 12th 2024, 17:40
Updated At: Tuesday, Mar 12th 2024, 17:40
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On Tuesday afternoon, the Bülach District Court sentenced a 48-year-old Swiss man for obstructing an official act. He had refused to submit to an ID check a year ago because he was a state objector at the time. In court, he appeared to have reformed.
The court sentenced the man to a conditional fine of 5 daily rates of 85 francs. He must also pay the court costs. The judgment is not yet final. The former conscientious objector can still appeal to the Zurich High Court.
The court was thus more lenient than the public prosecutor had wished. They demanded a conditional fine of 15 daily rates of 150 francs, plus a fine of 450 francs.
The 48-year-old had lit a fire in the forest in strong winds last March, which is why the police moved out to check on him. At the time, however, the officer was convinced that he was not a person, but "a living being".
The state is a "company"
As a "living being", he does not have to adhere to state regulations because this is a contract with "persons". Consequently, he does not have to show any ID. This view is typical of state deniers who believe that the state is a "company".
However, the judge made it clear in his ruling that a police request must be complied with. "You may have been talked into something that doesn't correspond to the facts. But society works according to different rules."
At least the accused had remained decent and had not insulted the police officers. However, his litany was annoying and tried the patience of the police officers, said the judge.
After 40 minutes of arguing and demanding, the former denier of the state was finally pushed to the ground by four police officers so that his rucksack could be searched.
"The attitude at the time was wrong"
In court, the clerk appeared to have reformed. His lawyer had explained to him that his attitude at the time had been wrong, he said. Today he knows that he should have shown his ID. He wanted to apologize to the police officers for the effort.
His lawyer had unsuccessfully demanded an acquittal. After all, his client had not run away and had not physically resisted the check. At the time, his client had "intensively dealt with questions of the rule of law". However, he had failed to realize that the police were perfectly entitled to give him instructions.
The lawyer was a lawyer who was running for the National Council in 2023 for the Mass-Voll movement alongside Nicolas A. Rimoldi. He was also on the board of the "We for you" association, which was critical of the measures and aimed at police officers.
Do not pay taxes
The phenomenon of state refuseniks is increasingly becoming a problem for the authorities. They mean a lot of extra work because they are not only unruly but also fail to pay state bills. Even the reformed state objector has tax debts.
In the canton of Thurgau, for example, tense situations are increasingly occurring at the tax and debt collection offices. Employees even had to be protected from possible attacks with structural measures.
In the canton of Zurich last year, state objectors changed the names of the district courts in Google ads to "Bezirksgerichts AG", i.e. a public limited company, because the state is a "company". In order to be able to deal with this "clientele", Zurich professional associations have been offering courses for government employees for some time.
©Keystone/SDA
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